2:15 PM: If you saw the big Seattle Police response in Sunrise Heights/Westwood – with a brief appearance by the Guardian One helicopter – here’s what we’ve found out: Someone saw a package theft in progress, called 911, and gave police a description of the alleged thieves’ vehicle. Police arrived, spotted the car, stopped it in an alley east of 35th and Thistle, and took two people into custody. (Thanks to @MetPatrick22 for the tweet about the search, which was first we’d heard of this.)

2:30 PM: Since this happened such a short time ago, SPD media relations doesn’t have details yet, but they were able to tell us that the original theft report was near 35th/Trenton, not too far from the arrest scene.

]]>http://westseattleblog.com/2016/11/west-seattle-crime-watch-package-theft-suspects-found-thanks-to-citizen-tip/feed/26BIZNOTE: West Seattle Target open despite partial power outagehttp://westseattleblog.com/2016/11/biznote-west-seattle-target-open-despite-partial-power-outage/
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 20:39:36 +0000http://westseattleblog.com/?p=86449112:39 PM: After multiple messages about a power outage at the Target store at Westwood Village – one that wasn’t showing on the Seattle City Light map – we went over to investigate. A manager tells us the store lost power after closing last night. It now has partial power, and is open for business, but some of the lights aren’t on, and they’re not able to run the freezers in the grocery section, so you can’t buy frozen food. They’re not yet sure how soon this will be fixed – they have an electrician continuing to investigate.

5:07 PM: Passing by between stories, we note that the lights appear to be back to normal, including exterior signage. (If you shop there tonight and find out otherwise, please let us know – we won’t be able to check until later – thank you.)

5:56 PM: If you saw the big police response outside the Westwood Village McDonald’s around 5:15 pm – here’s what it was about: Officers spotted someone they knew had a warrant out for his arrest, related to an armed-robbery case, called for backup, moved in, and arrested him. We don’t have name/case information yet but will be watching the jail register.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON: Online records show the suspect arrested is 20-year-old Christian Demuth-Hebert. He also was cited for resisting arrest and obstructing police. He is jailed in lieu of $101,000 bail – the $100,000 is for the robbery warrant, which we traced to a case involving shoplifting turned violent at a store in Bellevue, which is also the city listed for his most recent residence. We haven’t found any West Seattle ties so far. The charging documents in that case say his record stretches back to at least 14: “Assault Third Degree and Theft Third Degree (2016, reduced from Robbery 2); Theft Third Degree (2015, reduced from Robbery 2); Vehicle Prowl 2 (2015); Theft Third Degree (2014), Escape Third Degree (2011) and Criminal Trespass (2011, 2010).”

2:51 PM Several people have asked us about police and fire at 34th SW/SW Thistle this past hour – it was logged as a low-level car-crash response (“Motor Vehicle Incident”) but the photo above, sent in via text (thank you!), shows one casualty … a street sign. At least the second time in less than a week that a car’s taken out a sign (following last week’s Alki crash). No medic unit sent to this one, which indicates no major injuries, but we’re doublechecking with SFD to be sure.

]]>http://westseattleblog.com/2016/10/another-crash-with-a-street-sign-casualty/feed/10West Seattle development: Next Design Review date set for 9030 35th SWhttp://westseattleblog.com/2016/10/west-seattle-development-next-design-review-date-set-for-9030-35th-sw/
http://westseattleblog.com/2016/10/west-seattle-development-next-design-review-date-set-for-9030-35th-sw/#commentsFri, 07 Oct 2016 02:44:08 +0000http://westseattleblog.com/?p=860170The next Southwest Design Review Board meeting has just been set for the mixed-use project at 9030 35th SW, recently revived after eight years on hold. It’s currently proposed for five stories “containing 40 apartment units and 3,200 square feet of commercial,” with 32 off-street parking spaces. You can see the report on its previous review last May by going here. The next meeting is set for 6:30 pm Thursday, November 3rd, at the Sisson Building/Senior Center in The Junction (SW Oregon/California SW) and will include a public-comment period; the revised design proposal isn’t yet available, but you can watch for it here.

FIND IT, FIX IT FOLLOWUP:Lemmis Stephens and Laura Jenkins, working with the city via AmeriCorps, came to WWRHAH for the followup. Here’s the report they brought:

Jenkins pointed out that pages 7-9 show which projects were awarded grants – one of the neighbor groups, at 22nd and Henderson, will have one more work party this Saturday, and, as reported here a week and a half ago, have been paid a visit by overgrowth-munching goats:

(WSB photo, September 24th)

At Delridge and Barton, WWRHAH’s Kim Barnes led the push for a grant to take care of a triangle of property that’s been problematic, and the city will help them in a process to vision what the space could be, resulting in a document with recommendations and ways to pursue future grants. It’ll be a “stepping stone document,” she said, to “document the space … with the city,” in hopes of making it accessible as a future transit center. The third project that got a grant, said Lemmxx, is lighting for the Barton P-Patch, which will be installed soon.

Regarding Parks facilities, regional manager Carol Baker was at the meeting to discuss what’s in the report, particularly regarding Roxhill Park. Since this summer, Parks employees have paid more attention to the trails, for example, she said. Crews “go in as a team on a more-frequent basis,” sometimes every day of the week. They’ve been working closely with police, with four meetings since the Find It, Fix It Walk – something they previously had been doing about once a year. They have increased the width of trails and view lines, she said. She said they’re not seeing encampments – groups camping – but “hanging areas,” where people come from out of the area and hang out, partying, doing drug deals. “We’re not cleaning encampments, but definitely cleaning camps,” she said, adding that a police liaison has been helping by going in and telling the people who are loitering that they have to move on – so they’re at least moving into more-open areas. “It’s not illegal to sleep in a park or simply hang out in a park,” she emphasized, but if laws are being broken, that’s where police can be brought in.

Baker said some “high tree canopy” will be pruned – “raising the canopy … so the people from Daystar next door can see (into the park) and report” problems, and it won’t be so dark in the daylight in the park.

Use the park, another attendee urged. Chair Amanda Kay Helmick said she’s long been advocating to get students involved in stewarding the park, getting a new generation involved. She voiced sadness at not feeling safe to walk through the park, since she lives nearby, and has advocated for it for so long. “I was really hoping that the Find It Fix It Walk, and having the mayor walk through there, would have a visceral reaction, like I’m having right now … it did a little, but …” Some advance cleanup done before the walk left a picture that “wasn’t what the mayor needed to see,” noted Roxhill Bog steward Scott Blackstock. “Let him see what it looks like.”

Helmick said that rehydrating Roxhill Bog, something WWRHAH has been advocating, would also help solve some of the problems.

“We shouldn’t lose hope about the park,” said attendee Mary, a longtime advocate for it.

Within a few minutes, there were laments that there aren’t enough police, aren’t enough Parks personnel .. and the city has just hired a new Seattle Public Utilities director making up to a third of a million a year.

Regarding cleaning up in advance of mayoral visits, Baker notes, “you have to clean up the stuff that’s really unsafe,” and she said they got a chance to get graffiti at the skatepark cleaned up in advance, so they took advantage of it. Jenkins said they have heard the feedback about “don’t clean up before the mayor sees it” and have implemented it for subsequent FIFI walks.

WESTSIDE NEIGHBORS NETWORK: As reported on WSB last month, this new grass-roots organization is working on creating a “virtual village” – like way back when people lived in villages and “had each other’s back” – so people can age in place. Now, we live in “dense isolation,” as the reps put it, and this is an effort to solve the problems that creates. Their research shows that 40 percent of the people in this area who are 65+ are living alone. “At its core, a village is based on reciprocity – give what you want, ask for what you need.” The planning for this has been under way since 2015; it was reiterated, this is not just for seniors – it’s intergenerational – people can join earlier, help out, and “age into” the services that are offered. Aging would be a “catalyst” for community-building, counter to Seattle’s pervasive social isolation. “Interestingly, aging provides permission to break through that isolation.” 98106-98116-98126-98136-98146 will be the target zip codes, which covers the entire peninsula, and a bit further south. This is a network, not a social-service provider, it was made clear – something you do, not something done “for” or “to” you. It takes up to four years to get a village going, and this is the second year – outreach time, and that’s why the reps were here. If you’re interested in finding out more – even just volunteering to help make this a reality – e-mail westsideneighborsnetwork@gmail.com.

HALA UPZONE UPDATE: Kim Barnes, one of this area’s three reps on the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda focus groups for urban villages, brought an update. She said the group now has come to “the big pitch” regarding planned upzoning for the urban villages as part of Mandatory Housing Affordability. She says all the draft plans will be published on October 17th, and there likely will be a community meeting for West Seattle. As reported in our coverage of last week’s meeting of the Highland Park Action Committee (whose chair Gunner Scott is on the focus group too), a sample of draft plans has already been made public, including South Park.

VEHICLE NOISE POLLUTION RESEARCHER: Jesse Robbins, who’s been making the rounds of community groups around the city, was here to ask attendees if they’re having problems with noise pollution from vehicles with aftermarket muffler modification; he wants to “better understand” how different neighborhoods experience the situation. “We’re just three people who are tired of being woken up at 2 am,” he said of himself and other volunteers who are helping with this grass-roots survey (not affiliated with any government agencies). He said he’s been talking to police departments and others around the region, too. One attendee said there was some concern that a local shop is installing this equipment. Robbins said it’s not legal to install it, though it is legal to sell it. Another attendee mentioned loud motorcycles leaving the Fauntleroy ferry in the morning, and Robbins noted that he’d heard that from the Fauntleroy Community Association, too. He’s been to Alki and Admiral so far, and is planning to head to others.

DELRIDGE PROJECTS WORKSHOP REMINDER: Reminder from chair Helmick – 9:30 am-noon Saturday (October 6th) at Southwest Teen Life Center in Westwood (2801 SW Thistle), if you’re interested in something in east West Seattle, this is the place to be. Along the Delridge Way transportation corridor, in particular! (More information in our recent preview.)

SPEAKING OF ROXHILL PARK: The topic of people camping in the park, and the transit lines that begin and end there, was brought up, in the context of the new rules regarding camping that are under consideration before the City Council. If you have concerns, Helmick said, you need to let the City Council know – especially this area’s Councilmember Lisa Herbold (lisa.herbold@seattle.gov) – WWRHAH has been advocating for the park for four years and needs more voices to speak up.

COFFEE WITH A COP: Before his section of the meeting, visitor Robbins brought up this national event and wondered if SPD participates at all. We’re checking.

The Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council meets first Mondays, 6:15 pm, at Southwest Library.

]]>http://westseattleblog.com/2016/10/westwood-roxhill-arbor-heights-community-council-find-it-fix-it-followup-more/feed/2PHOTOS: Art by your West Seattle neighbors, all month at Southwest Libraryhttp://westseattleblog.com/2016/10/photos-art-by-your-west-seattle-neighbors-all-month-at-southwest-library/
http://westseattleblog.com/2016/10/photos-art-by-your-west-seattle-neighbors-all-month-at-southwest-library/#commentsMon, 03 Oct 2016 23:35:06 +0000http://westseattleblog.com/?p=859776(Kyla Scheff’s polymer clay piece “Miniature World”) It’s that magic month of the year when you’ll find paintings, sculptures, pottery, and other visual art among the bookshelves and other standard fixtures at Southwest Library. The 25th annual community art showcase continues at the branch is on all […]]]>Photos by Leda Costa for West Seattle Blog

>(Kyla Scheff’s polymer clay piece “Miniature World”)

It’s that magic month of the year when you’ll find paintings, sculptures, pottery, and other visual art among the bookshelves and other standard fixtures at Southwest Library. The 25th annual community art showcase continues at the branch is on all month, launched with a Sunday reception organized by Friends of the Southwest Library:

They told us this year’s response to the call for art was great – 103 pieces by 46 artists. You can see the artwork all month during regular library hours – 10 am to 8 pm Mondays through Thursdays, 10 am-6 pm Fridays and Saturdays, 1 pm-5 pm Sundays. Some of the artists who were at the reception:

Above, Vera C Stirling has several pieces in the show. She says an art class at the Senior Center two years ago sparked her interest in drawing and creating art. Below, it’s the second year of participation for Tycho Bear, who is displaying two of his creations:

Betty M. Laughlin (below) grew up coming to the Southwest Library:

She says her mom would bring her and they would leave with stacks of books. Years later, here she is displaying her photography and her wearable art – a felted necklace and bracelets.

Another artist there for Sunday’s reception: Ernie Flowers(below), a local film photographer, named his photograph of the swan after Edward Weston‘s iconic 1927 image Nautilus.

This is his first year participating in the show.

Gordon Miller was also at the reception:

In our photo, he’s standing under his resin piece “Rooftop.”

More of what you’ll see when you go check out the art at Southwest Library this month:

]]>http://westseattleblog.com/2016/10/photos-art-by-your-west-seattle-neighbors-all-month-at-southwest-library/feed/2TOMORROW: In Arbor Heights? Westwood? Roxhill? Your community council beckonshttp://westseattleblog.com/2016/10/tomorrow-in-arbor-heights-westwood-roxhill-your-community-council-beckons/
Sun, 02 Oct 2016 21:30:22 +0000http://westseattleblog.com/?p=859749Want to see change in your neighborhood? One easy way is to jump in with the people who are already working on it – but can’t do it alone – your all-volunteer community council. Next West Seattle group to meet is the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council, 6:15 pm tomorrow (Monday, October 3rd), at Southwest Library (35th/Henderson). Agenda items include following up on July’s Find It, Fix It Walk (WSB coverage here) and information about the new Westside Neighbors Network. See the full agenda preview in our calendar listing – and if the issue that interests you isn’t featured, show up and speak up!

More than 50 goats from Rent-A-Ruminant have been busy clearing one of the Westwood-area trouble spots highlighted during the Find It, Fix It Community Walk two months ago – a tangle of stairway-side brush, the removal of which has revealed numerous cans, bottles, and other litter.

We got word of their work at 22nd SW/SW Henderson late today from Ami, who had spoken to the mayor and dozens of other walkers during the July 26th event, playing a video clip from a former neighbor who said crime and disorder in the area had forced her to move (it’s in our July 26th report).

Ami explained in her note today, “After the Find it Fix it walk, we applied for a grant to mulch the area adjacent to the 22nd Ave SW and Henderson stairs. SDOT assigned an arborist to the project who brought in goats and is donating mulch for our neighborhood work party on 10/1 from noon to 2 pm.” We went over for a look at the goats, whose “head wrangler,” RAR proprietor Tammy, told us they’ve been working since Thursday and will likely leave around midmorning Sunday. (Her herd also did work for SDOT along the Delridge/Holden stairway a year and a half ago.)

Architect Justin Kliewer, who is now with Cleave Architecture and Design, presented three different massing (size/shape) options for the complex, which will be situated on what Kliewer called a “tricky” triangular parcel of 15,500 square-feet, on a steep grade, currently home to a small apartment building. The area is a bit of a mix, with Westwood Village within a stone’s throw, and single-family houses to the east and south.

The idea of 70 to 80 units shoe-horned into the space was not warmly received by those present.

“I can hardly believe they can squeeze in 80 units, it’s absurd, massive, way too big for the site,” said a neighbor named Sebastian, who lives directly uphill from the site. He said it would be visible for eight to 10 blocks and become a “monolithic presence.”

“It’s like squeezing a size eight into a size two shoe,” he said.

The size of the units raised eyebrows as well; you can find that information in the “design packet” published before the meeting. An efficiency could be as small as 280 square feet, a one-bedroom unit 400 square feet, and a two bedroom 500-600 square feet. Deb Barker, a former SWDRB member who frequently participates in public comment on projects, said three-bedroom units could be very useful in the area.

“This is an important site,” Barker said, commending the architect for three creative design possibilities. “It’s important because it’s so visible from Westwood.” She wasn’t alone in expressing need for larger units. Several of the speakers said the area is primarily single-family homes, with families living in them. Efficiencies attract young, transient folks who like to go out. But there’s nowhere to go out in the neighborhood – no bars, restaurants, movie theaters, not even in Westwood Village. Barker said the applicant should study the pedestrian activity in the area as well, and situate the primary entrance away from the single-family homes.

“I’m not seeing efficiencies as the way of this neighborhood – there are lots of families here,” said Amanda Kay Helmick, president of the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council. “This area has been ignored by the city for 20 years, and it’s not ready for efficiencies.”

Helmick also pointed out that the site is in the Longfellow Creek watershed, and putting in a massive building without proper drainage needs consideration. Additionally, the sidewalks that would be constructed around the building will lead nowhere, as the sidewalks don’t extend all the way up the hill going east. “It’s going to be weird no matter what you put there,” she said.

Although parking is not in the purview of the review board, numerous comments by email voiced concerns about parking. No off-street parking is planned since the site is on a Rapid Ride route, therefore not required. Craig Shaw, a 27 year-resident on 24th SW, asked the board if there were any other complexes in the area that don’t provide parking. The answer was no.

The review board agreed that concerns about the project included that it’s too high at four stories, too dense, and too massive. Other concerns were that it would be too monolithic for the area, no safe way for people to get dropped off by a vehicle, safety and security, and lighting. The board members gravitated to design option two, but they want it toned down.

Chair Matt Zinski joked that unless they bring in Frank Gehry (the famous architect who designed the EMP) the form needed to be simplified. “We’re concerned about this building being ubiquitous in its height,” he said.

Street improvements and landscaping tying in to the local plantings, a green transition to the single family area, a well-done trash enclosure, and vehicular circulation were other concerns the board had as well.

Although they ultimately agreed to move the project forward to the second and final phase of Design Review, architect Kliewer will have to sharpen his pencil. After hearing from the public, the architect had a better idea of the neighborhood mix, and said he would try to incorporate three-bedroom units into the project.

There will be at least one more meeting for 2222 SW Barton; no date set yet. If you have comments, you can send them to the assigned planner Joshua Johnson – joshua.johnson@seattle.gov – including environmental issues such as traffic and noise, as well as regarding the design.

12:38 AM: Thanks for the texts: Seattle City Light‘s outage map says more than 3,500 homes/businesses have lost power, mostly in southeast West Seattle and White Center. No word yet on the cause.

12:53 AM: The map now has the “estimated restoration” time of 7 am, but we always add the reminder, that’s a guesstimate and it could be much sooner, or much later. SCL is still investigating the cause.

1:18 AM: We’re getting some reports of power restored – mostly from South Delridge. No change in the outage-map total yet but sometimes it lags.

1:25 AM: Now the map’s caught up with the restoration reports – 294 customers (homes/businesses) still without power, in White Center. Here’s the updated map:

1:36 AM: Along with SteveMG, a commenter on our partner site White Center Now also mentions what seemed like an underground “explosion” at 8th/Roxbury. Here’s what SCL tweeted about the cause, without mentioning a specific location:

Crews have identified an equipment failure in an underground vault as the cause for the White Center-W. Seattle outage.

The first Design Review date is set for the four-story, 70+-apartment proposal at 2222 SW Barton [map]. It’s been three months since we first reported on this plan for that triangle of land southeast of Westwood Village. According to the Southwest Design Review Board‘s schedule, the project’s Early Design Guidance review – when size/shape (“massing”) is the focus – is set for 6:30 pm Thursday, September 15th, at the Sisson Building/Senior Center in The Junction. The first draft of the design “packet” by Playhouse Design Group is downloadable from the city website; you can get it here (16 MB PDF). It says the project could vary from 70 to 80 units, 260 to 515 square feet, depending on the final approved design. No offstreet parking is included, and none is required because of the “frequent transit” (including RapidRide) available nearby. The site currently holds a fourplex built in 1959, according to county records.

The Wingstop in Westwood Village will open this week. We’ve just confirmed that it will start by “soft-opening” around noontime this Thursday (August 4th); the official grand opening is set for the weekend of August 27th and 28th. At some point during that weekend, we’re told, the franchise’s owner Richard Sherman will be on hand – yes, THAT Richard Sherman, as in Seahawks star, but the company’s not sure exactly when yet. Official hours will be 11 am-11 pm Sundays through Thursdays, 11 am-midnight on Fridays. Wingstop is in the space west of 24-Hour Fitness that was long home to Eats Market Café; it’s been 13 months since we first reported that Eats was closing and Wingstop was on the way.